1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a paintball apparatus and in particular to an improved paintball grenade for use in mock-war games and to a method for making such grenades.
2. Description of Related Art
The game of paintball, by many accounts, was created in the late 1970""s or early 1980""s by veterans of the Vietnam War. The veterans attempted to create a game involving the element of stalking and being stalked. The first paintball game was played in 1981 in New Hampshire in a xe2x80x9ccapture-the-flagxe2x80x9d format. In capture-the-flag, two teams are organized, each team having a flag located at the team base. The object of the game is for a player to take, or capture, the flag of the other team while protecting his own flag. While attempting to capture the opponent""s flag, a player tries to eliminate players on the opposing team by tagging them with a paintball. The paintball is typically fired from a specialized airgun called a xe2x80x9cpaintgun.xe2x80x9d
The primary equipment associated with the game of paintball includes paintguns and paintballs. Paintguns, which are often called xe2x80x9cmarkers,xe2x80x9d are generally compressed air guns that will propel a paintball from the barrel of the marker at speeds up to 300 feet per second. Some markers require each paintball to be manually fed, while other markers have semi-automatic or fully automatic loading features. Paintballs are round gelatin capsules containing colored liquid inside the capsule. Traditional paintballs have diameters of approximately 0.7 inches. The liquid inside the paintball is generally non-toxic, water soluble, and biodegradable. The gelatin capsule is thin enough that it will burst when it strikes the flesh of a human being, but thick enough to contain the liquid when subjected to the forces of firing the paintball from a marker.
As the sport of paintball has developed over the last several years, so have the equipment and accessories associated with the sport. Camouflage clothing is often worn by players to allow them to blend into their surroundings and hide from opposing team members. Full coverage face masks are worn to protect not only the players"" eyes, but also other sensitive areas of the face. Sophisticated reloading equipment is used by some players to quickly reload their markers when the paintball magazine for a maker has been emptied. Finally, advanced utility belts and harnesses are sometimes worn by players to carry their equipment during combat.
One recent development in paintball technology is the paintball grenade. The paintball grenade is much larger than a single paintball and is usually thrown at an opponent. Because of its larger size, the grenade is designed to record a xe2x80x9ckillxe2x80x9d even if the opposing team member is not directly hit with the grenade. The grenade also allows a player to eliminate several members of an opposing team with one grenade. For example, a grenade impacting the ground or a tree in proximity to the intended target will rupture, causing the paint inside the grenade to be sprayed out in a pattern from the point of impact. If the intended target or targets are within that field of spray, they will be hit with the paint, resulting in a recorded kill for the opposing team.
The few paintball grenades that have been introduced into the market are constructed in the same manner as traditional paintballs. Namely, they consist of a gelatin shell surrounding a colored gel. These grenades, however, are extremely expensive, often having a retail price more than 300 times that of a traditional paintball. Accordingly, the grenades have not gained widespread popularity.
A need exists, therefore, for a paintball grenade that is easily and inexpensively manufactured. A need also exists for a grenade that can be easily assembled by a player just prior to starting a paintball game or during the game itself.
A paintball grenade. according to the present invention includes an enclosure that can be filled with water, such as a balloon. To prepare the grenade for use, a user places a thickening agent, a coloring agent, and a mixing agent in the enclosure. Typically, all three agents will be combined in the form of a single capsule or tablet. After placing the agents in the enclosure, the user adds water to the enclosure until the desired grenade size is obtained. In the preferred embodiment, the thickening agent is carboxymethylcellulose and the coloring agent is vegetable dye. Typically, the mixing agent is sodium bicarbonate.
The addition of water to the thickening agent increases the viscosity of the water, creating a gelatinous liquid having the consistency of syrup. The coloring agent colors the water so that the liquid will be easily identifiable after the grenade has ruptured. The mixing agent assists in mixing the water with the thickening agent and the coloring agent.
The user seals the enclosure after filling it with water. If a balloon is used as the enclosure, the user will typically tie a knot in the stem of the balloon to prevent the contents from escaping. After sealing the enclosure, the grenade is ready for use in a paintball game.
The user will typically throw the grenade at players of an opposing team in order to eliminate them from the game. When the grenade strikes another player or an object near another player, the grenade will rupture, thereby splattering the colored, gelatinous liquid radially outward from the point of impact. If any of the liquid marks a player, the player is required to exit the game.
Although the user will usually throw the grenade, the grenade could be propelled using a grenade launcher. A multiple person grenade launcher could be used by several members of a team to launch the grenade over great distances. A personal grenade launcher could be used by a single player to obtain greater distance than that afforded by simply throwing the grenade.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follow.